A+

For the last several years I’ve been telling myself that I need to read Dune, one of the all-time classic works of Science Fiction. And yet, I never seemed to get around to it, being distracted by other exciting sci-fi and fantasy series. So when I finally picked up Frank Herbert’s masterwork, I was pretty excited.

Admittedly, I expected quite a lot from the novel, but I was nowhere near prepared for just how amazing it would be. Herbert’s novel instantly became one of my favorites. Not only is Herbert an excellent story teller, but he writes to an intricate level of detail comprable only to Tolkien. I loved that.

I don’t think I can adequately recap such a complex story, but for those of you who still have yet to experience its greatness, here is the two sentence summary:

Dune is the story of Paul Atreides who is the son of a duke that finds himself lording over a barren planet, but one that yields one of the most powerful goods in the far-reaching galaxy. When turmoil arises, it becomes Paul’s charge to wield his own strange power against his father’s deceitful enemies.

The thing that amazed me the most was how, despite such intricate detail, Herbert was able to put meaning into every word. As I was reading, I had the distinct feeling that every detail was important and I found myself reading portions two or three times over.

I’m now very eager to begin reading Herbert’s next install in the saga, Dune Messiah. I feel like there is still so much left to tell and I’m excited to find out what else Herbert had stored in his imagination.

B-

Though I truly enjoyed Eragon and Eldest immensely, I found Christopher Paolini’s third novel in the Inheritance Cycle to be simply boring. If you have read this book and you feel otherwise, just ask yourself what actually happened? See if you can come up with three things that were actually crucial to Eragon’s development as a character or in preparing him for confronting Galbatorix. Be warned: Spoilers ahead.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the novel wasn’t terrible and I did enjoy parts of it. The problem is that I just kept falling asleep while I was reading. I mean those endless meetings with Nasuada, the trip to Farthen-Dur, and Orik’s fight for leadership just took up so much of the book that could have been used for something more interesting.

But let’s start with the beginning. I really did like Eragon and Roran’s battle at Helgrind to rescue Katrina. Even though Eragon and Roran’s chat was very awkward, the battle was great, that is until Eragon found Sloan. Sloan then became a 50 page waste of time. What was the point of this? To prove to the reader that Eragon can show good judgment? Dumb. Sloan should have just been dead so we could move on with the real plot.

Shortly after Eragon finally returns to the Varden camp, Murtaugh attacks with an army of magically enhanced soldiers that can feel no pain. I thought the battle was good, but I found Eragon and Murtaugh’s battle to be useless. Eragon let him go when he should have destroyed him. If nothing else, they should have at least killed the dragon.

So next, Nasuada decides to send Eragon off to help Orik attain command of the Dwarves. Meanwhile, Roran has married Katrina and left for battle with the Varden. He proves his prowess in his first two missions, but the third battle was just stupid. I just cannot believe that Roran could kill 200 men. Nor can I believe that 200 men would be stupid enough to face him individually when they had the Varden completely outnumber and had superior weaponry. I wonder if the Empire even would have considered…umm…just not attacking Roran. Perhaps they could have finished off the other forces and just surrounded Roran’s small force. I found this completely unrealistic. Not to mention that Roran may have saved his men, but he secured the death of all the others. He deserved to be whipped. His actions were very selfish and I was not impressed.

There isn’t much to be said about Farthen Dur. The little skirmish was entertaining, but considering that even Eragon was bored, I found myself skimming these chapters just to get through them.

By the time Orik won the throne, I began to wonder, what is this novel building up to? It didn’t feel like there was any building suspense. And when Eragon decided to fly off to Ellesmera, I knew it meant that the novel would have no major climax, that we would not see Eragon face Murtaugh or Galbatorix and it became hard to finish the book.

Ellesmera wasn’t particularly exciting either. Eragon spent an entire chapter smelting a new sword. Cool sword, but I would have been happier if Paolini had just described the process with a brief paragraph. We also found out that Oromis and Glaedir intended to go into battle alongside the Elves. I wonder if anyone didn’t see his death coming shortly thereafter.

Despite how boring I found most of the book. There was at least some small entertainment at the end. The Varden were beseiging Feinster (still not sure what strategic value it held) and Eragon arrived just in time to help break in, capture the leader, and take down a Shade. During the battle, Eragon also learned of Oromis and Glaedir’s deaths, which was surprisingly sad.

I think the thing that I found most frustrating with this book was that it just didn’t accomplish enough. So many things like Orik’s ascension didn’t need elaborate descriptions or Eragon’s aide. I really wanted to see Eragon face Galbatorix or some other big villain in an intense and climatic battle. I guess that was probably too much to ask for in three consecutive books. Judge for yourself, but I think you could skip this book and finish the series without missing much.

Jim Butcher delivers again with his second novel in the Dresden Files series, Fool Moon. The Dresden Files are quickly shaping up to be an excellent series, filled with non-stop, ass-kicking action. The series protagonist, Harry Dresden, is a wizard and private investigator of supernatural mysteries who seems to encounter adventure at every turn. In the first novel Harry went up against a demon, mobsters, and a rogue sorcerer. In the second, Harry faces another breed of villain: werewolves.

Probably the coolest aspect of the series is the way Butcher combines the genres of fantasy, horror, and mystery in a way that is very complimentary and entertaining. The novels are set in pretty much present day Chicago and allowing Butcher to employ a “pop culture” writing style. The author often references brand name products, well-known department stores, movies, and other elements of pop culture that gives the reader a unique perspective. I also like how the story is told though the eyes of Harry, a sarcastic and jaded character with a storied past.

Another thing that is great about the second novel is the supporting characters. The first novel really focused on Harry as an individual. The second, however, allowed some of the focus to fall onto some of the secondary characters in the series including the Chicago Police Department’s Special Investigator, Karrin Murphy, and Harry’s girlfriend and reporter, Susan Rodriguez.

Overall, the novel was very good. It was both action-packed and humorous. One thing you won’t find in the novels, though, is unnecessary emotion. The novels are very masculine in nature. That works well for me, but might not for some.